Zingers
by YarningChick
Summary: My spin off of One Hit Wonders, blending the adventures of The Cat Returns with the family fun of Hotel Transylvania in whatever way I see fit. Enjoy.
1. Prove

A/N: This is in the same vein as Zinging in the Train, but with Haru being born to the guy she humiliated at the front desk instead.

1\. Prove

_You can prove there's more to you_

_You cannot be afraid_

_-'Come Alive', The Greatest Showman_

**xxXxx**

_To whom it may concern,_

_First off, if you're reading this because I'm in the process of dying, and the only way to save me is to turn me into a monster, please only do so if you are convinced that there's any happiness waiting for me as a monster. If not, look in my phone for what appears to be boring lists. It's actually incriminating evidence to put that jerk in jail for life if we're lucky._

_If one of my sperm donor's men or even __**he **__is reading this, I'm not sorry for what I'm planning to do. Don't bother asking why; he spends all of his attention on monsters. There's no reason for me to not follow his example, especially since there's no one willing to form an actual attachment with me in this horrible place._

_If you need a name to put on my epitaph, it's Haru. Sorry about no last name, but I honestly don't know if my __**sire **__changed it when he changed his and asking will only guarantee that I won't like the answer if he promises to 'fix' it. Don't worry about me having any mourners. I flat out guarantee that my __**sire **__is going to be a lot more upset about losing his toy than about losing me._

_P.S. If he's reading this, don't blame Dracula for the fact that you don't have a daughter anymore. You lost me long before I made up my mind to escape, with or without a supernatural companion._

Haru held up the plain white fabric, pursing her lips to make sure that the fabric marker wasn't bleeding out or smudging her words.

If her plan didn't work, or only half-worked, this would be the last word anyone would ever hear from her. She flicked the fabric up and down like shaking the wrinkles out of a sheet, but it was really to help the paint marker dry a little faster.

It was almost daybreak. She had to time this just right, or everything was going to come crashing down.

Her large brown eyes closed, wishing that she had more to fight for than petty spite and only a vague hope that her plan would make anything better.

She checked her watch, nodding to herself that it was time to set things in motion. Now that the ink on the scrap of fabric was dry, she folded it very carefully before unbuttoning enough of her pure white shirt and tugging the shirt under it out of the way to safety pin the message to the tight bandages over her chest and buttoning herself back up.

True, it might not have been the best place to put her potential suicide note, but her pockets were either claimed by the plan or would have been too obvious for someone to ask a premature question. It just wasn't worth the risk of leaving it in her room where someone could find it in case someone decided to check on her ahead of schedule.

The young woman carefully pressed an ear to her door to ensure that the soldier on patrol was nowhere near her hallway. She took in a steadying breath before leaving her room and carefully locking it behind her so that no one would suspect that she was up this early.

That had been another brilliant detail. Everyone was so used to her sleeping later than what was allowed for the hired help, that no one would bother asking if she had finally managed to stay up the entire night.

Haru hated everything about her 'home'. Everything was a sterile, unrelieved white that would have been more typical of a hospital than a private island. Even the people that lived in what should have been a paradise were required to wear nothing but white.

'_**This **__is how pathetic my life has become,' _Haru griped in her mind as she slipped into a janitor's closet. _'I'm getting excited about even the __**chance **__I might be able to wear a green dress soon. Maybe even blue.' _

Emptying one of her pockets, Haru carefully slipped on the gloves that were long enough to be lost inside her buttoned sleeves before slipping on a full head mask of a sheer enough white that she'd be able to see through the fabric and make her fine brown hair cling to her scalp.

Now the only clue to her identity was her build. She did somewhat feel bad for the five men in the compound that could pass for her body type if there were security cameras where she was going, but there was only so much she could do.

Any one of them could have gotten their hands on the anti-gravity belt prototype.

Haru jabbed her thumb into the center of the belt she was wearing under her clothes, grateful that she had even remembered to wrap an extra bit of cloth around the mechanism so that the white light wouldn't alert anybody.

Her body immediately floated a good five inches from the ground, somewhat dizzying her but she had practiced enough with the belt not to lose her focus. Haru had thoughtfully put herself against a shelf before activating the belt so that she could guide her body to the small air vent over it. A quarter turn of each screw later, courtesy of a visit she paid to the closet two days ago, and the grate came off very easily. Just inside the air vent was a length of pure white rope and a thick metal bar that she immediately strapped to herself.

Slipping a long magnetic pole from one sleeve, the teenage girl was able to set the grate back into place after her, just in case someone needed Windex before her task was done. But since there wasn't room for her to slip the pole back to its place, she was forced to leave it with the grate.

This was the tricky part. Haru had spent the last three days memorizing the route she was meant to take in the air vents, but she had to do a vast majority of it by feel. Only rarely was there light from one of the grates facing up at her, but that only served as a better warning to be quieter than a mouse.

If only that was the only reason this trip was unpleasant. The conditioning unit wasn't used at a high enough capacity to sweep away the thick layer of dust. Haru did was she could to not touch her clothes to more of the filthy metal than she had to, but thanks to the antigravity belt, there were still little bumps along the way from the walls and ceiling that were sure to leave her white outfit grey by the time this phase was over.

But the anti-gravity belt was helping out enormously with her silent passage, since crawling would have made a very distinct sound to anyone with half a brain. Wondering if this is how astronauts felt, she repeatedly used her hands to only brush at the tight walls around her and project herself forward, always forward. Her legs screamed in protest at being held perfectly parallel to all the sides of the air vent, but at least she was conditioned enough to keep going anyway.

Her heart broke as she drew closer to her destination. Not because she had lost her way, but because it wouldn't have mattered by now if she had.

Another scream of terrible pain rippled through the air, tired and near the end of its strength. Despite herself, Haru quickened her pace until reaching the lower grate she wanted.

It was even worse than she feared. The owner of those terrible screams was strapped to a table that gleamed with a genuine silver surface, and the manacles on his wrists and ankles were the same hue, leaving deep ugly marks on the pale flesh.

There was another gleam of silver from a knife. Haru carefully braced her legs and one arm against the sides of the vent before deactivating the gravity belt.

She'd need to be as steady as a rock for this next part.

"**Where is she**?" the blocky man demanded while brandishing his weapon. "Give it up! She can't be worth all this, can she?!"

Dracula panted from the pain, actual tears running down his face as his eyes refused to focus on anything.

Haru quickly slipped her weapon of choice out from her other sleeve. It had taken her a bit of practice with it, but she was feeling confident that she wouldn't miss her mark. She loaded the carefully-packaged ammunition into the needed slot.

"Well?! Will you deliver her whereabouts or not?!" the man demanded before adding a hard slap to the face for good measure.

Not bothering to turn his head back after the slap, Dracula muttered something almost too soft to be heard as Haru slipped the thinnest part of her weapon between the metal bars of the grate and took aim. She also took in a long, practiced breath that wouldn't be heard.

"She died for me. I'll happily return the favor."

Just as the captor was taking in his breath to start raging again, Haru blew as hard as she could.

Her mark was true. The copper-ended dart hit him right between the shoulder blades. The blocky raging man jumped in surprise, turning around quickly to see the culprit, but Haru had already yanked her weapon into the grate.

"How on earth did a mosquito get all the way in _here_?" he raged, not in the mood for this as he slammed the knife onto the table by the vampire's waist and vainly tried to reach his own back for the telltale prick.

It took a moment, but his small black eyes blinked stupidly before he fell over in an unconscious heap, knocking the side of his head against the silver table.

_That _was Haru's cue!

Another pocket produced a small gun that wouldn't do much in a fight but should be enough for her purpose. Quickly setting the barrel of the gun where she knew a screw to the grate was, she shot three times in different screws, praying that if anyone could hear it, they'd brush off the pathetic sounds. The last screw was tight enough for her to be able to slide the grate out of her way with the ease of a cupboard. It was hanging a little crookedly thanks to the gunshots, but it was still holding.

Haru knew Dracula could see her now but was too busy unstrapping the bar and rope from her torso so that she could set it over the grate's opening on one side. As mentioned, the steel bar was solid, and easily a foot longer than the almost tiny opening she was going to exit. The rope had been given a very complicated knot on that rod to keep from slipping loose.

Thankful now for all the physical education that had been shoved down her throat, the young woman made a swift climb down the rope. She paused only once to look at the vampire and tap two fingers to her mouth to encourage his silence.

The look he gave her was more than shocked. But now she could _hear _his flesh sizzling against his silver trap.

Haru hopped the remaining two feet down, giving him a gesture of patience with one hand as she nearly ran for the large man she had always _dreamed _of defying. She grabbed the control freak by his armpits and used every ounce of strength she had to drag him to the large computer that was wired to the silver table.

It was even harder to keep her movements as sure and arrogant as a man's.

Since the heavy man was redundant to a fault, Haru had no trouble breaking into his computer. She was just able to rip off one of his gloves and press his hand against the scanner after she had raised him to a sitting position next to it.

"**Password**," the computer asked in a bored tone.

Haru swiftly yanked out her cell phone and played the recording she had waiting. _'Not even __**this **__can give me away! They're all standard issue!'_

"_I hate __**monsters**__!_" the fallen man bellowed like a trumpet through the phone.

"**Voice key correct,**" the computer confirmed, finally allowing Haru the option she wanted.

She pressed the correct button with a certain satisfaction.

The silver manacles on Count Dracula's wrists and ankles immediately retreated inside the table, making the vampire eagerly roll himself off it and onto the stone floor as if it were a feather bed.

Haru's heart swelled with sympathy, but now wasn't the time to get sentimental. Grabbing her prey by the armpits again, she started dragging him to the table that he had specially made for the vampire he had spent the last ten years trying to hunt down.

Okay, maybe she wouldn't be able to do this part. The man really was larger than her and seemed to weigh as much as a house. Being scrawny was useful when she needed to crawl through an air vent, but a disadvantage when she had to manhandle someone bigger than her onto a somewhat tall table.

Much to her surprise, Dracula was able to rise to his feet and reach out with his shaking arms. Even though he was weak with fatigue, pain and hunger, he was able to throw the man onto the silver table as easily as a rag doll, though being careful not to touch the surface again.

Haru arranged his legs in the appropriate position, noted with delight that Drac was doing the same with his captor's arms, and quickly tapped on the computer's control panel.

The manacles sprang back into place over the bulky man's ankles and wrists, so Haru locked the computer again before emptying two more of her pockets.

She offered the orange to Dracula, who swallowed it whole with relief, and used the duct tape to wrap around the new captive's mouth and head a few times to delay him from activating the computer when he was eventually found. On top of that, he was going to lose a lot of hair and at least a majority of his mustache when someone tried to free him. She left the roll of duct tape connected to the length wrapped around his head for just one more little insult, since she knew that wasn't how this kind of thing was meant to be done.

But she noted with a certain delight that Dracula was angrily removing a cell phone from their captive's pocket that _wasn't _standard issue on the island. But at least he knew enough not to use it in here, pocketing the device for now. Now that he had been given a bit of sustenance, his raw flesh and slashed chest was starting to heal over, and even his old-fashioned clothes and cape were losing their cuts and rips.

Haru pulled out another orange while running back to her rope, but Dracula had other plans. After swallowing the second orange, he very literally swept the girl off her feet and rose like a shot to the open grate.

Without wings, she noticed.

"_I'll follow,"_ he breathed into her ear before helping her slide into the grate first.

By the time Haru had moved deep enough into the grate to give him room, she craned her head underneath her just enough to see him change into purple mist, and the rope fly up into the grate like someone was slurping a noodle. Just before the grate slid back into place, Haru saw the mist reform into a small black mouse.

'_Don't remember hearing he could do __**that**__," _Haru couldn't resist thinking without being impressed. She pressed the button on her antigravity belt again and began backtracking the path she had memorized.

It was a little more eerie on the return trip. When she was coming to the vampire's rescue, she knew for a fact that she was alone up here, and all she had to worry about was anyone below hearing her. But cynic or not, she was now all alone with not just any vampire, but the Undead King himself.

Haru was reasonably certain that he had figured out that she was friendly, but she couldn't hear him following her. He was levitating behind her like a balloon after a child, the best clue being his pinpricks of glowing red eyes.

After the third time that she stopped to look behind to make sure she hadn't lost him, she felt a tiny weight settle on her shoulder.

"_Does this help?" _he breathed next to her ear again, making the poor girl try not to laugh out of sheer nerves.

But it definitely helped. Arriving back at the janitor's closet was almost immediate now that she wasn't constantly looking behind her. Her legs were _definitely _tired of being held up by her sheer willpower by then.

The tiny black mouse rose from her shoulder and carefully scouted it out with his eyes and ears while she waited a few feet back. He gave her a miniscule thumbs up with a tiny paw before turning back into purple mist and taking the grate with him into the janitor's closet.

Haru was halfway out before Dracula reached up, grabbed her by the shoulders, and nearly yanked her out of the air vent to hug her tightly.

Despite the horror stories she'd been force-fed over the years, there was absolutely _nothing _seductive about the gesture, and he didn't seem to care that he was getting dust all over him from her clothes.

Her breath staggered in her throat as her eyes went wide with disbelief. **No one **had done this to her since a little after coming to the island! Unable to restrain herself, she clung to his chest, burying her face into a vest that was no longer ripped as she tried desperately not to cry at how _good _this felt!

"This is twice you've come to my rescue," he informed her while running a long-fingered hand over her head mask like he couldn't believe that she was really there.

Haru flinched in surprise, breaking away from him enough to notice that he was levitating himself to accommodate her antigravity belt. "_Me_?" she asked with surprise, ripping off the mask so that he could get a better look at her. "The demon girl from the train?"

The ancient vampire nodded without the slightest hesitation or surprise as he took in her features even more eagerly than he had accepted her oranges. "You were no demon. Only the bravest human I'll ever meet."

Haru blushed since that wasn't the kind of thing people around here normally said about her. She gave a nervous look at the janitor's door before deactivating the belt.

But because Dracula was still holding her, she had to wait for him to settle on the ground as well.

"_Would you mind turning around for a second?_" she whispered, tugging at spot on her sleeve that was now dark with dust.

It was a good thing she had prepared for this as well.

Dracula didn't answer, but he did release the girl before steadfastly turning his back on her.

Haru started by placing the grate's screws on a nearby shelf. She wasted little time working off the shirt, the gloves, the pants and outermost layer of socks since the inside of the air vent had been _incredibly_ dusty. She had wanted to wear shoes for the escape, but she only had two pairs, and she didn't want to bring attention to herself by publicly wearing the fancier boots she had to be arm-wrestled into wearing.

Now in only two pairs of socks and her pajamas, she finished by taking off the antigravity belt and setting it on top of the dust-ridden clothes with the mask and slipping her phone into the elastic waist of her pants. Feeling strangely secure about doing so, Haru gripped Dracula by the hand to let him know she was decent. "_Can you set these deep enough inside the grate so that no one will tell we've been here?_"

He gave her a warm smile before using his purple mist to grab the bundle and throw it deep into the grate. The screws were levitated next, and the grate was now eager to be firmly set back in place.

The screws were set in so tightly, that it wasn't likely that anyone would think this would have been the exit point.

"_Let's get back to my room before anything else. Would you mind riding in my hand?_" she whispered while holding it out as if expecting to be given something. "_This outfit doesn't have pockets, so this is the best we can do for now._"

Dracula nodded his agreement, turning into purple mist again that centered on her outstretched hand until he was once again the tiny mouse.

Haru bit back her first instinct to scream and chuck him against a wall before pressing her ear to the door again.

Silent as the grave.

Haru still opened the door slowly so that it wouldn't make much noise, peeked out to be completely sure no one was around, and quickly made her way back to her own locked door. Despite no one being around, she was very careful to keep her hand cupped in such a way that it was almost impossible to tell if she was holding anything against her pant leg.

The young woman had to physically force herself not to slam the thick door shut behind her, but she still rested against it with a sigh as one hand locked it up. She breathed several times with relief as Dracula reassembled himself by her side to eye the small, boring room that was every bit as white and sterile as the torture chamber he had been rescued from.

"Are all the rooms in this place so boringly predictable?" he asked with tired contempt.

Haru nodded before making her way to the simple white dresser to pull out the largest drawer. He followed her curiously and was delighted at the small bounty revealed as the slender girl restacked her folded pants to the side for him to peruse.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know what else you can have-" she apologized, but he was already digging into a large bag of raisins.

"This is fine," he assured her between mouthfuls, making her take a few steps back with some relief, pulling off her plain white sleep shirt.

"Don't turn around. I need to do something embarrassing for the plan to work." The top of her was now only covered by tight bandages that had held her chest in like a man's. She wasn't as well-endowed as some of the women on the island, but Haru considered the extra precaution worth it to keep suspicion off her.

"What _is _the plan?" the vampire couldn't resist asking after swallowing, but he was able to force himself not to turn around to look at her while asking it.

Haru winced as she unfastened her suicide note first, and then undid the second safety pin so that she could start unwinding the long bandage. "Unfortunately, it's going to be long and awkward for both of us. You're going to want to scream in frustration more than once, but the only way it's going to work is if you let me handle everything at least until the second safe point."

"That's not answering my question," he informed her shrewdly, setting down the empty raisin bag to move his calmer attentions to a can of dried figs. The more he ate, the more quickly his remaining rips and flesh wounds healed until he only seemed tired. Even his disheveled black hair was falling into place.

Haru tried not to smile grimly as the last of the bandage fell away so that she could pull on her sleep shirt again. "To keep suspicions down, I'll need to keep to my normal dialogue and routine for a few hours. There's a small crack in the security I can exploit, but only if I don't bring attention to it. It would be better for you to call for backup at the second safe point, because then we'll have a head start on anyone here."

She pulled one of her bigger pillows out of its pillowcase and used the small rip in it to shove the bandage into it, ripping the fluff inside in half to make the wraps as hard to notice as possible.

That bandage was now the only clue that what had happened could be traced to her. It would have been smarter to get rid of it in the grate with everything else, but she also knew that it would be three days until anyone would be touching her bed linens for laundry day.

By then, it would be far too late.

"I was counting on you riding in my pocket as a bat the whole time, but a mouse is probably better." Then Haru remembered why he still had his back stubbornly to her as she carefully put the pillowcase back on, with the ripped part facing the inside hem. "It's safe to look at me now, but you might want to use the bathroom quickly."

That private bathroom was probably the only hint that she was a person of rank on the island, because the bedroom itself was too small to take much note. Even her clothes were the standard issue of every inhabitant.

Dracula gave her a deep grateful look, but didn't waste time rushing through the door she was pointing at, still carrying the remains of the figs.

He didn't take long, but Haru was still done rearranging her pants so no one could tell that she had a secret food stash before he came back out. He had even taken the trouble to get rid of the remaining dust on his clothes.

Haru sighed before looking up at the vampire. He was nearly twice as tall as her, clearly stronger than a human even in his weaker state, and yet he wasn't challenging her plan or coming up with a reason why he should be in charge of their escape.

Though it should have frightened her, she took his long-fingered hand and held it between her own with a certain firmness. "I'll need you to fall asleep in the pocket of that set of pants," she informed him, giving a small head gesture at the pair of white pants lying slightly askew over the others in the open drawer. "You'll be blind and voiceless until I directly tell you it's safe to talk. It's not much of a plan, but I've been looking over escape routes for years, and this one has the best chance of succeeding. Are you willing to trust me?"

His ice blue eyes seemed to melt before he wrapped her in another hug. "You over any human. I can't _wait _to re-introduce you to everyone!"

"Shh!" she hissed, wiggling out of his embrace to point imperiously at the folded pants. "Don't make me say the phrase. We'll both need some sleep before things start happening."

He sighed tiredly in complete agreement before turning into purple mist that poured itself into the upmost pocket of the top pants in the drawer.

"Sweet dreams," she told him, shutting the drawer after him before tiredly placing her phone on its charger and marching to her own bed.

Naturally, just as she reached it, she noticed one last detail Dracula needed. Muttering angrily to herself, Haru grabbed the scrap of cloth, folded it nicely, and returned to her drawer. "One last thing?" she asked a little sheepishly, making the tiny mouse tiredly poke its head out of her pocket. "Would you hold onto this for me in case I don't make it?"

Dracula glared at the folded note before turning the dark look up at her. "You _**will **_make it. If it's the last thing I do."

She sighed tiredly. "Please? For me?"

Now that she knew _she _had been the girl on the train, it wasn't that big of a shock that he relented.

ooOoo

"RISE AND SHINE, SLEEPING BEAUTY!" a familiar voice hollered as her foot was painfully yanked.

Haru yelped from being awoken so rudely, even though she had worn multiple pairs of socks until right before going to bed an hour ago for this exact reason. "Do you _have _to do that, Yubaba?! Every stinking morning!" she raged while sitting up with a glare.

A squat woman with a giant mole between her large eyes was giving her a wide grin that screamed she enjoyed this part of her morning. "Just making sure you aren't sleepwalking again, dearie."

Haru gave an exasperated growl while throwing the covers off her. "I haven't done that in five years, woman! Come on, couldn't you have done something different to wake me up for today? Rang a bell in my ear or flicked the lights on and off?" She stormed over to her pure white dresser, yanking and slamming the drawers while grabbing bits of clothing from each one. _'I hope Dracula will accept my apology for screaming this much.'_

"If it works, I don't see a reason to change a thing," her keeper smirked, hobbling over to the bathroom door and resting against it as usual to keep the girl from leaving her sight.

"I'm also not a little girl, anymore," Haru griped, carefully gripping the armful of clothing so that she wouldn't accidentally put pressure on her pant pockets. "I know how to dress myself without an audience."

"When your father adjusts his expectations of my duties, I will be happy to comply."

Haru glared but used the only loophole she was allowed in this regular argument with Yubaba. Throwing a bedsheet over herself, Haru managed to switch clothes in about two minutes. But she still had to keep the bathroom door open when she got ready for the day.

That was one of the reasons Haru had grown to hate the one that sired her. Leaving her to be raised by servants while he ran off chasing vampires was one thing, but _never _accepting her pleas or hearing her protests about wanting a little privacy? Thank heaven she took baths at night, or Dracula would have overheard _that _argument, too!

It still hurt that he was overhearing how she was being treated like she was still a child. She could feel him trembling in her pocket, but hoped he'd be able to keep a grip on his temper.

Haru could barely force herself to endure the morning routine. Yubaba was too harsh with brushing her shoulder-length hair again before styling it into an old lady's bun that mirrored her own, and her breakfast of eggs and bacon were still too greasy for her to actually enjoy eating.

It was too bad that bacon grease stained anything white. Dracula might appreciate the bacon after all that fruit as his first decent meal in at least three days.

Thinking about the mouse in her pocket quickly became the only thing forcing Haru to hold herself together. If she had thought yesterday had been bad before rescuing Dracula, then actually sneaking both of them off the island was going to be even worse.

"Do we _really _have to have garlic at every meal?" she complained, pushing back her plain white plate when the only thing left on it was some buttered toast that had been heavily dusted with garlic salt.

"Yes, we _do. _Especially now that the king of vampires is under this very roof!" Yubaba shuddered while shoving the toast back at her charge while gnawing at her last piece of bacon. "I don't blame the bags under your eyes, girlie. I haven't been able to sleep with that… _thing _on the island with us!"

Haru grumbled but ate the toast to keep up with the usual routine. _'At least your mood hasn't soured from losing sleep, you hag!' _"There, done!" she snapped, shoving the empty plate away and going for the door.

"Wait for me to finish, girlie. Your father very specifically told me you are not to be alone in the compound until after he's done with that monster."

Haru banged her head against the door and left it there until Yubaba was eventually done with her own breakfast. _'Oh, he doesn't think of me for birthdays or holidays, but he'll remember I exist when a monster shouldn't be able to touch me. I hate my life.'_

xxXxx

In a hallway on the other side of the compound a rough hour later, the conversation hadn't gotten any better.

"Double shifts _again_?" Haru complained when she noticed her standard-issue bag once again had enough food in it for two meals instead of one when the corporal handed over her supplies. "I'm never going to catch up on my schoolwork if I keep getting commandeered for-"

"Watch your attitude, missy," the big man growled at her like he had missed too many meals. "We have to make use of everybody we can if a rescue attempt is made by the monsters, no matter how… _unfitted _that body is for dealing with monsters," he added with a sneer while giving her slight form a look of contempt.

Haru glowered at him for the common insult, praying that his gaze would stay away from the pocket that had a slightly trembling mouse. "My standard post?"

"That's right, missy. Don't dishonor us by getting distracted by cloud gazing or daydreaming about any of the privates."

"_Eww_," Haru muttered under her breath, marching away from the man and into the large door leading out to a hangar where there was an army of motorcycles, both the ones that could fly and the ones that could go over water.

Every single one of them were pure white, naturally.

Haru made for her customary water bike, rubbing the spot between the handlebars gently before grabbing the plain white helmet waiting on her seat.

"**Eww**?" one private asked her waspishly as he got ready on the bike behind her. "You're not exactly a beauty contestant yourself, you know."

"I was referring to your personalities," Haru countered coolly before almost slamming her helmet on and mounting her bike.

They had been insulting her long before the girl started griping about everything, it was only fair to get in a few insults back.

She took special care to keep her legs where they normally were, although she knew Dracula was nearly getting crushed in her tiny pocket from her leg position, but she didn't dare shift around to make him comfortable until she was out of sight from all these people that hated her for not really being part of their little brotherhood.

It was too bad there was enough room in the helmet for the 'old lady' bun. Haru would have delighted in the excuse to pull it out without getting screamed at again.

"You're no beauty queen by that scale, either," another private sneered as he made his own preparations to ride.

"I never claimed to be," Haru responded with all the ease of a recitation while adjusting her satchel in front of her almost like a kangaroo pouch.

This was yet another reason she was all too eager to leave the island for good. Dracula had been the first person in at least eight years to sincerely say something nice to her and hold her like she _meant _something.

For that, she'd happily lay down her life for him again.

After what felt like a century, the large hangar door slowly slid up, and the twenty motorcyclists revved their engines for takeoff.

Now that the helmet was covering her face with dark glass, Haru didn't have to mask the wild smile of anticipation any longer.

At the usual signal, the first row raced to the water that the dock was gently slanted towards. They split into different directions after a few yards, allowing the next row to do the same.

Haru supposed she should be grateful that her life was predictable enough to be mistaken for a Groundhog Day situation. She was low on sleep, high on the idea of never returning to this cold place, and almost ready to jump out of her skin with nerves.

Despite all these distractions, her body knew what to do. As soon as her row could skid out to the rolling sea, her hands automatically began directing the course to her personal lookout point. No conscious thought was required, save for one thing she had to bite her tongue to keep from screaming at the top of her lungs.

'_So long, __**suckers**__!'_


	2. Back To You

2\. Back to You

Or, Part 2 of Prove

_If all was lost, _

_There's more I've gained. _

_Cause it led me back… _

_to you._

_-P.T. Barnum, 'The Greatest Showman'_

**xxXxx**

Haru parked her water bike next to the small rock outcropping, unhooking a rope from one side in order to tie it to the usual rock to keep her ride from leaving without her. She climbed onto the most level spot before opening the seat of her bike.

A stolen bedsheet was very carefully folded into the smallest possible roll she could manage. She grabbed it, tucked it under one arm, and walked as deeply as she could between the rocks for minimal light, but it couldn't do much at this point.

Haru pulled off her helmet and set it against the pocket that held her new friend. She pulled the top of the pocket open invitingly, and the poor vampire needed no further invitation.

Women's pockets have never been known to be roomy.

He climbed into the helmet with a great sigh of relief. Haru raised the helmet to her face, specifically aiming it so that he could see her shushing motion with a raised finger while protecting him from the sun's rays.

Despite enjoying his new freedom of movement, it was clear that the little guy was in the mood to start biting heads off.

"_Can you read lips?_" she mouthed at the little mouse, delighted when he nodded without hesitation. "_Great. If you can hear anything from the bike, it's probably a tracer, maybe a microphone. I don't want the tracer damaged, because then we'll have people on top of us immediately. Can you remove the tracer and leave it here so people think I'm still here until an hour from sunset?_"

That tiny mouse face looked thoughtful, but he gestured with a tiny paw for her to turn the helmet toward the bike. She carefully did so, since the last thing she wanted was for her new friend to get burned to a crisp.

After less than a minute of staring intently at the bike, two bits of the molding that she had assumed were only decorative were forcibly ripped from the sides from familiar purple mist. One was twisted into a pretzel and thrown out to sea, and the other floated obediently into Haru's surprised hand. She set it between two rocks where the wind and water weren't likely to get to it, and used one hand to unroll the bedsheet, using the wind to her advantage.

She covered herself and her helmet with it, finally feeling free to speak aloud. "Ok, I think you'll be fine if you stay under the sheet. But we'll have to be careful with it. I might need to use it for a sail after we run out of gas."

Dracula took that as permission to resume his own form, temporarily blinding Haru with his purple mist before the sheet was lifted from her head to accommodate his height instead of hers.

Dracula took one glare at how Yubaba had styled her hair before immediately working the bun loose with his hands instead of mist magic. "I am adopting you," he informed her between clenched teeth that showed off his fangs.

Haru flinched at the tone, even though she knew his fury wasn't for her since his long fingers were gentle about combing through her brown strands as the sheet billowed around them. "I was really hoping you'd be tired enough to sleep through all that," she admitted shamefully, taking the small black hairband from him to put her hair into a simple ponytail instead.

The wind was blowing hard enough for the girl to not want her hair to be constantly whipping at her face.

The tall vampire gave her a look that couldn't decide between righteous indignation and pity. He settled for wrapping her into another hug as the bedsheet and his cape billowed around them. "One thing that Stoker's waste of paper got right about me, is that I can always hear what's going on around me, no matter how deeply I rest. But I mean it, you of all people deserve to be part of a loving family."

Haru couldn't fight back a smile as she thought over the pictures of his family her father had forced everyone to memorize. "Are they as nice as they look?" she asked wistfully while returning the hug with pure bliss.

"Even better," he swore to her, only letting go so that he could pull out his phone.

"Don't call," she warned before he could do more. "We're in range of the island's service, mostly so I can report if I see anything suspicious. We're encouraged to text since it's less expensive. Phone calls are reserved for emergencies, the operators will know something's up if they detect a call."

Dracula's mood wasn't the only thing that dropped. Much to her surprise, even the points of his cape collar dipped down with his mood. "Of _course_," he stated with loads of sarcasm. "I still haven't really learned texting. Naoko tells me to use a special pen for it, but it keeps disappearing on me. One of Griffon's pranks, no doubt."

Haru did her best not to laugh at him. "How about I text what you dictate?" she offered with a wide smile. "Just don't mention my gender or anything like that. If someone were to look at your text, they'll know it was me if you don't use neutral terms. There aren't a lot of girls on the island, and I'm the only one with my body build if there were cameras in that chamber."

Dracula thought for a second before smiling a bit more kindly than before. "There were, and that should work just fine," he crooned before handing over the phone. "It should have enough battery for that. Your sorry excuse of a sperm donor was keeping my cell phone charged in case one of my contacts found you for a tradeoff."

"_The __**snake**_," Haru snarled mutinously, turning around so that he could read over her shoulder. "He wouldn't have honored a tradeoff. Who do you want this to go to?"

"Use the same chat that _he _was using," he encouraged, placing one hand on her shoulder so he could lean over a bit. "Every single one of my contacts is in there. He was _very _eager to find you, though not enough to believe anyone when they tried to protest you were a human."

Haru was still pleasantly surprised that despite the stories, his grip was comfortably cool instead of ice cold, and there was no lingering smell of death about him. A bit of blood, yes, but that wasn't his fault, though the faint whiff of pleasant cologne probably was his own doing.

"Okay, go," she confirmed, her thumbs ready.

"_Baron in particular will recognize the one that came to my rescue," _Dracula began, making her digits flick expertly across the screen. "_Our old friend and I are ready to be picked up now._" Dracula paused for a second. "I don't know where we are," he confessed.

"I do," Haru said grimly, wasting no time on punching in their exact coordinates. "I know it sounds self-defeating, but our best chances will be to head out deeper to sea. If we try to circle to the side closest to the mainland, we'll get caught by the other patrols for sure."

"Are you ever bothered at your post?" Dracula asked keenly while looking at her precise directions. "Ah, _that's _where we are. We're likely to get multiple rescuers within three hours if no one from the island comes by to check on you."

Haru thought about that, relaxing a bit. "It's going against my instinct to get away immediately, but no. The only time I was bothered out here was when I accidentally damaged my bike on the rocks. I'm still sure the only reason I was given this post was because it's in the least likely direction for an attack, but the sperm donor didn't want me to be a pampered princess."

Dracula's eyes glowed red with suppressed rage. "I've seen your room. You are _anything _but pampered."

Deciding not to argue for now, Haru rounded the text off with a quick explanation about why calling would be a bad idea, as well as coming directly from the mainland. "Does this look good to you?"

"It's perfect."

One tap, and the deed was done.

Haru let out a long breath before smiling up at him. "Why don't you get more sleep? I'm better suited to keeping watch during daylight than you are, and you're still worn out from…" She tried to shake away that first impression of him slashed up like a pig at a slaughter.

He sighed tiredly while sinking to the ground, partially arranging himself against the rocks as the sheet continued to billow around him like a frantic ghost. "You will wake me up if anyone comes?"

"Naturally." She grinned at him before retrieving an evil-looking gun strapped to the side of her bike. "And I'll be ready if it's someone from the island." She double-checked the safety on the fancy trigger.

That made his drowsiness wash away. "Don't you _dare _get into any fights!" he fumed, standing to his full height again and almost losing the bedsheet. He quickly bunched it around him until it looked like he was trying to cosplay a white grim reaper, with only his face visible in the improvised hood. "I helped bury you once, but I **will not **do it again!"

This kind of behavior should have frightened her, too. Maybe the fact that she was touched by his rage was just one more indication that she was better suited to living with monsters instead of humans. "I'll wake you up as soon as anyone comes, friend or foe," she promised him while pulling on one sleeve to encourage him to sit comfortably again. "I can see everything from my post, don't worry. We'll have plenty of warning regardless." Then she blinked and looked at the rocks. "Would you like to sleep in my satchel? I can throw out the garlicy food, and the sheet would probably be enough cushioning and light reduction when you're a bat or mouse."

He gazed at her gratefully, gripping her face firmly from under the sheet before pressing a kiss to her forehead. His magic got rid of the offensive food for her, dumping the thick sandwiches into the ocean for the fish to enjoy. "You are too good for those human beings. Everything will be different once I get you home, I promise."

Haru grinned up at him but forced her own retort down so that he could turn back into purple mist and drag the sheet with him into the makeshift hammock. Once he was securely wrapped up and snoring softly in the satchel still hanging across her chest, she climbed to her usual perch on top of the second highest rock and began her watch. Her bag was now comfortably over her lap, so he wasn't out of her sight.

The phone still in her hand immediately pinged as soon as she was comfortable. Haru knew she shouldn't, but she checked the message anyway.

**Baron**_: I will do the honors of retrieving the pair of you. Stay safe, and don't let anything happen to our old friend, OR ELSE. _

At least he was smart enough to also use the genderless pronouns for her. Glad that someone had volunteered this quickly, she hurriedly shut the phone off to keep Dracula's other friends from texting or even calling to make double sure that he was all right.

Talking to his friends and family probably would have been a pleasant way to pass the time, but the last thing she wanted was to alert the tech squad on the island that something was up.

As she paced looking all around her, both the ocean and sky, Haru realized that her new friend had specifically mentioned 'Baron' in the text, as if it were a safe word for her own identity. He had answered in almost the same amount of time it took her to write it out, too. Was Baron an old friend of hers?

Pondering this gave the brunette something to do as she continued to keep watch through the seemingly endless moment.

Haru hadn't really let herself ask questions about her past life since the middle of a rescue wasn't the best time for long explanations. Dracula had no reason to lie about it since she was already doing precisely what he wanted, but…

Had she been happy, back then? Had she had the chance for a more normal life, or had she been on the train _with _the pompous pig and had a change of heart?

Haru dismissed that last thought. If she had been working with Abraham Van Helsing in her past life, Dracula wouldn't have been so shocked to see her inside his walls. Literally. Plus that jerk said clearly that he had been working alone on that train.

She had been friends with the famous vampire back then, that much was certain. A very dearly **missed** friend. It was probably not the best way to take comfort, but a wild grin split her features as she reveled in _someone _being upset when she wasn't around.

What kind of monster was Baron? Between the pig's memories and the constant surveillance on the monsters, it was clear that non-humans were a tightly-knit group. Haru tried to think over that surveillance footage, wracking her brain for someone that looked like a 'Baron'. But since she only had human bigotry to go on, it was impossible for her to tell on looks alone.

No, Haru couldn't have had a normal life back then. Not with monsters in her life, but she was still certain that it had to be better than her current life. She made a mental note to ask what her name was back then, just to see if she wanted to take back her old last name to solve that years-long dilemma.

Why on _earth _was this Baron taking her safety so personally?

Haru was used to long hours on this pile of rocks. Days like today, she spent more time out here than in her room. It was an easy preference since there was no one here to insult or belittle her, but now she was patting the rock next to her like a faithful dog. _'You've been a good sanctuary from the island,' _she told the rocks silently to keep from waking Dracula. _'I guess it says a lot that this is going to be the place and times I'll miss the most.'_

A bit of movement caught her eye, making her look up sharply. A groan of disappointment escaped her lungs and throat.

"Something?" Dracula yawned from his place in the satchel.

"Just a crow," Haru reported miserably, resting her head on one hand in complete boredom.

"TOTO! WE'RE _**HERE**_!" Dracula suddenly bellowed, startling the girl enough to almost make her fall off her perch.

Haru looked up at the crow with renewed interest, just now noticing that it was heading straight for her little cluster of rocks, even before the vampire's desperate shout.

The black bird almost looked like it was carrying a doll on its back. But as it pulled a more drastic dive for her rocks, Haru realized two things.

The first one was that the crow was a giant. With enough space from the ground, it was ridiculously easy for him to look completely normal.

The second one is that the crow was definitely _not _carrying a doll on its back. But whatever it was, she couldn't see details yet.

"He's coming!" she said aloud, more for Dracula's benefit than anything else, since he wasn't in a position to take a look.

Haru scrambled down from her usual perch to give the crow a better landing area. As long as their rescue was here, Haru shouldered both her satchel and the strap to her gun out of the way so that she could unhook her bike from the rope and set it adrift into the ocean as the rocks thudded and cracked behind her to tell of the crow's landing.

Before she even finished giving the bike a gentle kick to nudge it along, there was a thud next to her and a second foot on the bike's side to help with the nudge.

It seemed like a normal human leg, but at least it was covered with light grey pants instead of white. Haru was likely to have small panic attacks over white clothing for the rest of her life if she managed to have a life after today.

She turned to politely thank Baron, but her mind forgot to form words.

For a few precious seconds, she forgot everything. Even how to breathe.

Baron was some form of cat monster, but she almost didn't want to use the term 'monster'. There was a refined dignity about him, but then, cats usually had that. His fur was orange with a cream underlining, with the orange nearly circling each of his amazing green eyes as if to bring more attention to them. Those slanted green eyes were locked on her almost desperately, taking in details like he was getting a sneak peak into heaven itself.

His grey suit made him look like an old-fashioned gentleman-gentlecat?- but Haru couldn't explain why that suit and the world in general seemed to turn purple for just an instant, though the shade seemed to linger in his beautiful green eyes.

It was something deeper than instinct, but Haru somehow _knew _she was looking full into the face of her future husband.

She wasn't prepared for this! Nothing about her life on the island had prepared her for anything like Baron! Against her will, she blushed hard enough to fry an egg on her face.

His anxiety melted into relief, and the stunned girl was almost blinded by his smile before the feline wrapped her into a comfortably tight embrace. "_I've missed you, Lucy._"

She blushed even harder, but nothing could shake how **right** being in his arms felt. She wrapped her own around his chest and squeezed like she never wanted to let go. "My name's Haru this time. Nice you meet you, Baron," she answered a bit shyly.

She felt a violent twitch both from the orange cat and the satchel resting against her side.

"Haru? _Really_?" Dracula demanded in shock, revealing that he had been watching all this from an opened corner of the satchel at her side.

Baron's grip tightened on the girl as he glared at the satchel. "You've spent hours with her, and you never bothered to learn her new name?!"

"It's not his fault," Haru defended her potential new father. "I was the one with an escape plan, and I kept making him sleep or be absolutely quiet so that no one would suspect a thing. There wasn't time for talking, and people on the island would rather use insults than my name." Haru scowled. "That's one my lesser reasons for wanting to leave."

Baron reluctantly released her, his eyes like emerald daggers with his rage. "_Indeed_?" he hissed before kicking her helmet out to the ocean in an impressive arc. "In that case, it will be my honor to arm-wrestle Naoko for you. May I get rid of that gun as well?"

Haru shook her head while holding onto the strap keeping it on her back. "This thing is specifically designed for killing monsters. If you or Dracula know someone good with technology, they might be able to find ways to counter weapons like this if they have a prototype to dissect."

"Smart thinking," a new voice cawed, making Haru look up at the giant crow on her usual perch. Despite having a beak, it wasn't hard to see the bird smiling warmly at her. "I think your Zing just provided your college with its best challenge yet, Baron."

That made Haru blink. "You've got a college?" she asked with interest. He didn't seem that old, but he had to be if he knew her from over a century before.

She could ask about the 'zing' thing later.

Baron gave her a melting smile. "I will be overjoyed to give you a tour, but why don't you give me that gun first? It was getting in my way earlier."

The poor teenager couldn't resist a second blush at his words, but still slung the weapon off her back so that he could transfer it to his own. "We really should leave now. I bought us a few more hours, but I _don't _want to be anywhere near this-Gah!" she suddenly yelped when the cat monster swept her off her feet and into a bridal carry.

"As you wish," Baron informed her, barely able to take his eyes off the girl enough to jump up the rocks and land on the crow's back.

Haru wasn't _exactly _sitting on his lap since he had one leg on each side of the bird's back, but he was definitely gripping her tight by the waist with one hand on a fistful of black feathers.

"Shall we, Toto?" Baron asked, a smile even more present in his voice than his face as Haru worriedly wrapped her arms around his neck, and the satchel was once again across her lap.

The crow cawed once before takeoff. "Hotel Transylvania, here we come!"


	3. This is Me

3\. This is Me

Or, Part 3 of Prove

_I am brave_

_I am bruised _

_I am who I'm meant to be_

_This is me._

'_This is Me', from The Greatest Showman_

**xxXxx**

Inspector Jones gave the cell phone picture another long analysis before giving the two women of the Dracula family in general a flat, disbelieving gaze just outside the hotel.

Every monster in the vicinity seemed to be out here for the anticipated arrival, and more than one conversation was being held. But the human officer only had enough patience for the count's wife and daughter at the moment.

"Let me get this straight. _This _girl," the inspector clarified, pointing at the rather lovely young woman beaming happily from the oil painting inside the cell phone picture, ", saved _the _Count Dracula by climbing onto the roof of a speeding train car and giving chase to a monster hunter over the other car roofs, in high-heeled boots and a corset no less, and stuck a **hat pin** in a larger man holding a strange gun at someone she never really talked to?"

Naoko beamed lovingly as she kept her large brown eyes on the open sky. "Isn't she amazing? To think that we're finally going to **meet **her!" _'This makes two lifetimes with Drac I need to thank her for!'_

Mavis was twitching violently from her excitement from underneath her large pink hat and heavy sunscreen to combat the afternoon sun. "I hope Baron waits a few days before carrying her off to the Refuge! I've got so many things I've always wanted to ask her, and I'll finally have the chance!"

Inspector Jones nodded his agreement, though with a scowl. "I'll be very interested to find out how she figured out where Dracula was being held when no one in law enforcement could pin down where that feed was originating from. I wonder how many lives were sacrificed to pull off his rescue," he mused darkly.

Naoko couldn't make herself worry about that as she took her phone back. Not now, not when her sweet husband was _finally _being returned to her, with the interest of _Lucy_. "Is her suite ready yet?" she asked the closest set of free-standing armor.

The visor of the helmet shook with his response, the closest equivalent to a mouth that he had. "The maids have finished making it comfortable, my lady, as well as the lord's favorite foods as you requested. The cooks even thought to prepare some human food for Lucy."

"I'm sure she'll be grateful," Naoko thanked him, still almost as giddy as a schoolgirl. She should have needed to brace herself against anything that happened to be handy, since she hadn't slept well since her husband's abduction and this time was a lot closer to when she got up for the night than when she laid down in the morning.

But that latest text from Drac's number had scared off her fatigue, and she was bound and determined not to rest until it was in her dear count's embrace. Her fingers twitched nervously at her sides as she tried to remain calm.

She may not have been a countess for more than a handful of years, but she knew that she _had _to maintain a dignified front for the other monsters, if not her daughter from a previous life.

"There they are!" Frank suddenly hollered above all the scattered talk, pointing with a sausage-like finger at a black speck coming from the west.

Mavis squealed happily, making her mother certain that it was only the sun that kept her from flying up to meet them. She reached over and grabbed her daughter's hand, carefully keeping it within the shade of her large hat.

Inspector Jones pulled out his radio. "The turtledoves have reached the nest, move in now."

"_Roger_," was the businesslike response from the other end.

The coordinates from the earlier text had been all too precise. Everyone on that island would be in cuffs before sundown if there were no further surprises.

The other monsters were cheering as well, making the inspector cover his ears with an agonized expression. A large space was soon cleared in the middle of the pavement, and Toto landed after another five minutes.

Naoko gaped at what she saw. Not at Lucy's coloring, of course. She herself had been a brunette in her last life as Martha as opposed to the autumn color that now flowed over her shoulders, so it stood to reason that Lucy would also be color-swapped this time around.

Oh no. What shocked her to the core, was the fact that her husband's rescuer from a Van Helsing was a _teenager_!

A furiously blushing teenager, at that. Her large brown eyes were startled as she looked at all the monsters cheering happily to see her. Her arms were locked firmly around Baron's neck as if she were afraid of all the attention, though he didn't mind in the slightest. Her face was not yet the luminous beauty depicted in the werecat's many paintings, but there were little hints here and there in her features that it would only be a matter of time. Not even the dark circles of exhaustion around her eyes could disguise the fact.

It was somehow very fitting that the sweet angel was completely clothed in white, although a flowing dress might have been more appropriate than the severe uniform that would have been more at place on a soldier.

She seemed to ask the werecat a soft question, one that couldn't be heard through the deafening cheers. Baron smirked as he answered, making the poor girl blush even harder.

Grateful that she was still gripping her daughter's hand, Naoko started moving forward as the inspector did. It took only two reminders for the other monsters to clear a path for them.

When Lucy saw Naoko and Mavis, that future promise became even more prominent as her famous smile flashed like the sun. "Special delivery!" she called to them, carefully removing the strap of her satchel from her shoulders in order to offer it. "He's only had some fruit this morning, so-"

Naoko didn't wait for her to finish. She grabbed the satchel with one hand but used the other to press her face against Lucy's outstretched palm to show her gratitude, since the two were still on Toto's back. "You're not going to leave yet, are you?" she begged.

"We'll follow you inside," Baron promised, giving Lucy another affectionate squeeze by her waist.

Mavis lifted one corner of the satchel's top flap, keeping it and her hand under the shade of her large pink hat. "Daddy?" she asked worriedly.

"Mavie," he responded tiredly, crawling out of the satchel and into her hand as a bat. Since there wasn't enough shade for him to do much more, he stayed on her hand and hugged her thumb tightly.

"Oh, _honey_, you look exhausted," Naoko crooned worriedly, wrapping an arm around their daughter's shoulders and hurriedly escorting her back inside the hotel.

As soon as they were through the rotating door, Dracula wasted no time shifting into his normal form so that he could wrap both Naoko and Mavis into a desperate embrace, slightly off to the side so that their friends could also filter into the front hall. "I thought I'd never see you again," he whispered harshly, raining kisses on his daughter's hair and his wife's lips.

"How are we going to pay her back _now_?" Naoko couldn't help wondering as she fiercely gripped her husband's chest and her daughter's shoulders. "We already owed her so much, and now _this_!"

"We're adopting her," Dracula informed the pair of them in a tone of stone.

Mavis blinked, looking up from her parents' embrace. "She's an orphan?" the young vampire asked with surprise as she handed off her large pink hat to a zombie usher.

"She might as well be," her father muttered darkly as his eyes glowed red with rage. "Even **Baron** understands she'll need some time to heal before he can court her in earnest, but she'll be just fine if a loving family is around."

Mavis beamed happily at the sudden prospect of having a sister. "_Done_!"

It was about then that Baron came through the rotating door with the inspector close on his heels, and Lucy still in his arms.

She had forgotten her blush for a serious expression as she spoke into the inspector's radio. "… and the code for the door beyond that is three, seven, seven, five. You'll find Van Helsing strapped to the silver table he was using on Count Dracula, but you'll need a smith or welder to get him out. The computer's password is locked with his handprint and voice key, so he's good and stuck unless you take the table with you. Get a silicone copy of his handprint, I can send you a recording of his voice in case he doesn't cooperate. You're going to find all _sorts _of files on that computer he doesn't want authorities to see."

Dracula and Mavis shuddered at the words 'silver table'.

"What did he do to you, Dad?" Mavis asked while gripping his wrist, but the older vampire shook his head with a haunted expression.

"Pray you never know," he answered darkly, holding onto his little family a little tighter.

"_Thank you for your cooperation, Miss._"

"I will also be available to stand witness at his trial, I have even more dirt on him. You'll find me at Hotel Transylvania whenever it's convenient to contact me again."

"_I will forward that to my superiors. Thank you again._"

Lucy was grinning as she handed the radio back to Inspector Jones. "Thanks for letting me talk to him."

He nodded, looking a bit numb at how much information she had been privy to. "You know, I don't think you've mentioned exactly _how _you knew all this," the inspector managed to say without exactly asking as he pocketed the radio.

Lucy flashed a tired version of her famous smile at him as she readjusted both arms to a comfortable position around Baron's neck. "I've been plotting to get off that island since before I lost all my baby teeth. Since I wanted his operation shut down before anyone else got hurt, I made sure to weekly check for updates in case I thought of a good plan for escape but wouldn't have time to check up little things to incriminate him the first chance I got." She turned to Dracula to give him an apologetic smile. "I'm still sorry that it took me three days to set up everything for your rescue."

"I'm not," he informed her grimly while hugging his wife and _first daughter _closer. "I've seen the consequences of your split-second plans up close, if you will recall."

She gave a small shrug with one arm since the other was still wrapped around Baron's neck. "Not without getting hypnotized by a shrink, I can't."

"Is _that _how he remembered being Van Helsing?" Frank asked, making the girl nod again, though with a dark expression that was full of resentment.

"Turns out the best time of any life had nothing to do with Mom or me. Not even any family he had back then. Just him trying to kill Count Dracula."

There had been excited little noises and side conversations from the other monsters, but that simple statement made the main hall turn as silent as a graveyard as the implications set in.

Naoko's heart broke for this sweet angel. _'That… horrible example of a human being? Lucy's __**father**__?' _Her expression became as hard and unforgiving as stone. _'No. Just her sperm donor.'_ Without thinking, she released her hold on her husband and walked up to the werecat with a stern expression. "Baron. I understand you've missed her terribly. But I think my new daughter needs rest before we bother her with anything else." She held her arms out with that familiar expectance that most parents had where their children were concerned.

Baron did not want to obey, that much was clear. But one glance at the tired, beaming smile on Lucy's face was all he needed to reluctantly set the girl on her own two feet.

Naoko gave her _second _daughter a big hug to welcome her home. "Come with me, Sweetheart. Your room is right next to Mavis and Johnny."

Lucy gaped in surprise as Naoko loosened her hold into a one-arm position, leaving the other side open for _her first daughter _to also loop arms with the girl. "You knew Dracula was planning to adopt me?"

"Nope!" Mavis assured her with a big grin as the three of them started moving towards one of the impressive stone staircases, sneaking in a hug of her own. "We were just hoping you'd stick around a while before starting a life with Uncle Baron."

The newest member of the Dracula family snuck a heart-filled glance over her shoulder to see the werecat explaining to the baffled inspector about what was going to be done with Lucy until she came of age, with the count coming forward to confirm his intentions. She blushed again with a foolish smile as they began taking the steps carefully. "I think we can manage that," she admitted shyly, tightening her own grip on the women on either side of her. "Where are Johnny and Dennis?"

"Sleeping," Mavis explained as they inched up the staircase like a three-headed monster. "Johnny didn't sleep for two days trying to help track where Dad had been taken, and it's past Dennis's bedtime." They were only halfway up the stairs when the young vampire couldn't resist the urge to wrap both arms around her new sister's neck. "They're going to be so happy to meet you!"

Lucy grinned a bit foolishly at the thought, tightening her own grip the best she could. "So I'm his aunt, now, right? I definitely get cuddling privileges with Dennis?"

"You get _all _the cuddling privileges," Naoko assured her, joining in on the hug before encouraging her girls to keep moving. "If that man's as cold as the feed showed him-"

"**Worse**," Lucy growled under her breath, her beautiful brown eyes turning frosty at the mention of the man.

Her heart broke for her new daughter all over again. "-then you've got a lot of love to catch up on. That's what we're here for. You."

Her new daughter's eyes lost their frostiness to became as warm and familiar as hot chocolate. She tightened her grip again, almost like she was afraid that letting go would make them disappear.

They didn't talk for a while after that, though there was the chorus of shrunken heads hanging from doorknobs to echo 'Do Not Disturb!' as they moved past each one. The three women still walked as one down a mostly vacant hallway, holding onto each other and grateful for the opportunity to do so. Lucy stared at everything she could with a strange mixture of recognition and wonder, as if she had seen the hotel before. But Naoko and Mavis could barely keep their own eyes off her face, almost with the same amount of recognition and wonder.

It was all either of them could do to keep from asking how this girl-child managed to outwit her undeserving father and pinch a vampire out from under his nose in such a way that the island had almost no warning when authorities would strike. They were prepared for a monster rescue, not a police raid. Even though the island didn't have a specific country affiliation, steps were going to be taken about Van Helsing.

But at least Lucy would be all right. No matter what.

Naoko finally reached out to the one door that didn't have the head scream 'Do Not Disturb'. "This will be your room, Sweetheart. I hope you'll like it."

"After all the work the maids put into it, she _better_ like it!" the shrunken head on the doorknob griped as the door opened.

The young teenager inhaled softly with appreciation, walking in almost as if under a spell. Mavis forced herself to let go so that her new sister could explore her new home.

The accommodations weren't so much a room as it was a small apartment, just like Mavis and Johnny. Stone walls were a soft grey color like the rest of the hotel, but it provided a lovely contrast to the canopied bed that was covered with one of Naoko's most prized quilts. There was a tall, fully stocked bookcase lining one wall, and a very comfortable couch close to a fireplace that was only cold because it was a hot summer day. Thick green rugs covered the stone floor almost like grass, and all the furniture was a warm honey color of wood.

Lucy said nothing. It was all she could do to slowly turn, taking in every detail like she couldn't believe her own eyes.

"There's some hotel-issue pajamas on the bed," Mavis pointed out a little nervously to the closest corner of the quilt. "They should fit, and we can take you shopping for regular clothes tonight after we all get some sleep and answers. I _really _can't wait until you tell us how you saved Dad this time."

"I got away," Lucy breathed as she started to sway from side to side. A wild smile, full of the joy and love that they all knew, overtook her features until she was almost _glowing_. "It worked. Home. _**Home**_," she repeated, tasting the word happily as tears began to flow down her tanned cheeks.

"That's right, Sweetheart," Naoko assured her, taking the girl into her arms for another deep hug before she toppled over. "You're home with your _real _family, and you're **never **going back to him. We love you too much to allow that to happen."

That's when the poor teenager began crying in earnest relief. She buried her face into Naoko's shoulder, only loosening her grasp on the older woman when Mavis insisted on getting in on the embrace, nuzzling that soft brown hair and humming a melody the way she usually did when her son was upset or needed a little help falling asleep.

By the time Lucy calmed down, she was already half-asleep on Naoko's shoulder. It was about all the older woman could do to talk her into switching her white uniform for the magenta silk pajamas that had been lying ready. Despite the fact that the girl had to be close to sixteen, Naoko didn't resist her impulse to tuck her new daughter into bed and kiss her brown locks after removing the hairband.

The efforts were rewarded with a sleepy smile full of love. "Thanks… _Mom_. _Sis_."

Mavis had to fight back a squeal at her new title. "Sweet dreams, Lucy," she bade her childhood hero as she gripped _their _mother's hand to back out of the room.

"Haru," the girl corrected sleepily.

Naoko stopped dead in her tracks, her large brown eyes turning even wider with shock behind their glasses.

That. Name.

Naoko had chosen it while still a young girl. Long before she met her first husband. Long before finding out that her current body couldn't function properly for childbirth. Long before she quit her job and came running to Transylvania after she had mourned her mortal love long enough to be ready for Dracula.

There had been nothing about her life in Japan to hold her back from him, or the daughter she hadn't remembered losing. She loved Mavis, there was no question of that, but the human woman had never been able to fully banish the disappointment of never getting her very own little Haru. She and Dracula had talked of adoption many times since their glorious wedding day, but something had always gotten in the way before now.

She slowly turned to look at her first daughter now that her new girl was out cold.

Mavis was just as shocked, but she still managed to recover first. "_Let her sleep_," she insisted, pulling her mother out of the room and gently shutting the door behind them.

"… _Mine_," Naoko was eventually able to mouth, her pulse racing a mile a minute as her head and heart began to spin with both rage and excitement.

"Come on, Mom," Mavis encouraged worriedly, pulling her some distance from _Haru's _room before wrapping her tiny arms around her reincarnated mother. "It's okay. We have her now. She's ours. I know you would have been happier if she were younger, but-"

"That _pig_!" Naoko snarled, gripping her older daughter tightly. "**My** Haru! He didn't even appreciate her, and **he **had her! That's just not fair!"

"Naoko?" her husband called, swooping from the stairway and down the hall to them in a flurry of purple mist before reassembling himself in front of his beloved wife.

"_**Mine**_!" she cried while throwing herself into his arms and burying her face into that familiar chest. "She's mine, now!"

Thankfully, Dracula was familiar enough with her way of thinking that he did little more than wrap both his arm and cape around her for a deep embrace. "Ours, dear. A little later than I would have liked, but she's ours now. The Inspector doubts anyone worth worrying about will challenge our claim."

"We can deal with anyone who bothers," Mavis growled as her teeth and fists clenched.

"Well, other than Baron," Dracula laughed, hugging his wife deeply before kissing Mavis's brow. "But we'll have a few years before they get serious, I think. Get some sleep; I have a feeling tonight's going to feature a wonderfully long family discussion."

His older daughter beamed happily at the thought before kissing her parents and retreating to her own family.

Dracula gave his mortal wife a smile full of adoration before offering her his arm with a courtly bow. "Shall we, my love?"

Despite sneaking up on their fifth wedding anniversary, the red-haired woman could still feel her heart skip a beat at his gentlemanly manner with her. Now even more emotionally drained than she had been before her husband's return, she eagerly linked her arm with his so that they could finally rest in each other's embrace, as real Zings were meant to do.

Naoko beamed with pride and love as she passed by her new daughter's room. "Sweet dreams… my little Haru."


	4. Ghosts

A/N: This is just a fun idea of another way Baron and Haru could have come in contact in the Zinging in the Train idea.

Birthday Bash 2020

Prompt 5: Ghosts

xxXxx

"…_o… ooo… eee…"_

Haru turned her head away from the practice field. "Did you hear that?" she asked Hiromi.

"Hear what?" her best friend asked as she performed her stretches while holding onto her lacrosse stick.

The brunette pursed her lips as she tried to listen harder. "I'm not sure. That kind of high whisper through the trees?"

"…_. oooo… ssseeee…"_

Hiromi closed her eyes for a moment before shrugging. "Sorry, Haru. All I can hear is the other team getting _served_," she reported with a naughty smirk.

Haru frowned while stepping closer to the chain link fence. "How can you _not _hear it?" she asked a little incredulously.

"_Luuuu… ssseeeee…"_

Haru blinked as the sound slowly became more like speech. She laced her fingers through the chain link fence and gripped it tightly as her large brown eyes searched in vain for where the sound could be originating from. "Now _that's _just silly! Now it's starting to sound like-"

"_Lucy!"_

Without warning, everything turned black. Haru wasn't sure if she had closed her eyes or had a thick blanket thrown over her, but nothing was distinguishable anymore.

She tried to flail around in vain, but nothing seemed to matter. It had to have been her wild imagination, but Haru could almost **swear** to the idea that she was falling right through solid matter. Even though she couldn't see anything, she still had the sense that she still falling, falling, falling…

_Falling… Haru was screaming, but no one could hear her. No one was __**around **__to hear her. _

_Suddenly she was thrown up into the air while still screaming, and her eyes could see directly below her._

_She was staring at a very old grave, liberally strewn with varying flowers and plants in the very definitive shape of a coffin._

"_What the actual __**heck**__?!" Haru screamed in surprise, realizing that she wasn't falling back to the ground. Not only that, but she could see __**right through her outstretched hands! **__Even the strands of transparent hair now flowing over her shoulders had a white tinge instead of her usual brown, and she was in a long shift of a white dress, though Haru couldn't understand why._

"_Finally! It worked!" a crackly hag's voice exclaimed in triumph._

_Haru twisted herself in the air enough to gape at the company surrounding the grave._

… _This was a dream. There was no other explanation. She must have passed out during practice._

_**Count Dracula **__tilted his head with a sound of confusion. "Somehow, I didn't think that would be the first thing she'd say."_

"_Be nice, she's probably really confused right now," __**Frankenstein **__assured him, though he just looked happy to see her._

"_You think?!" Haru demanded while taking in everything other than the monsters surrounding the heavily flowered grave._

_This was actually a really beautiful spot to be buried. Lots of trees, a mountain in the distance, and the full moon overhead was surprisingly beautiful._

_About the only thing really marring the spot was a set of railroad tracks just visible through some of the trees._

"_**Lucy**__," one of the monsters called in such a worshipful tone that Haru had no choice but to look at the one monster standing apart from the most famous this world ever knew._

_If she currently had breath, she'd have lost it at the sight of him. Almost without thinking about it, whatever passed for her form floated down in front of this unusual creature as the world flashed purple around him in her eyes._

_He was probably a werecat, most of his true color washed out by the moonlight except for his amazing green eyes. She couldn't even tell if his nice suit and top hat were white or a soft grey._

"_Wow, you're cool," she breathed in complete appreciation, secretly grateful that she didn't have the ability to blush right now._

_That seemed to startle him as much as it flattered him. "Don't you recognize me, Lucy?" he begged, reaching out to grab her hands, but his own just passed through her without so much as a ripple._

_She blinked in surprise. "I'm not Lucy," she apologized as gently as she could. "Wait, that was you I heard calling, wasn't it?"_

"_Yes, it was me!" he confirmed, though his confusion only continued to grow. "What do you mean you're not Lucy? You wouldn't have heard my call if you weren't. Do you really not know me?" he begged like he was about to cry._

"_I'm sorry," she apologized again, trying to touch his shoulder to comfort the werecat. But her hand went through him just as easily as he had gone through her._

_It was strange. Why did she feel such a… __**closeness**__ to him? _

"_My name is Haru Yoshioka. I don't know how I answered the call instead of your Lucy."_

_That made his head snap up to look at her again. "What?" he asked slowly._

"_My name is Haru Yoshioka," she repeated herself. "I live in Japan with my mother." She suddenly stiffened and looked at Dracula, who was standing next to a young lady about her own age that could have easily been his daughter. "Just in case this isn't a weird dream, the book got everything wrong about you, right?"_

_The vampire could only nod. "Only a handful of names were accurate, yes. Precious little else other than some of my abilities."_

"_Mom will be happy to hear that when I tell her. One of her favorite hobbies is ripping open all the plot holes in that book," Haru couldn't resist smirking a little before noticing that the werecat's hand was trying vainly to turn her attention back to him. She turned it toward him again anyway._

"_Are you trying to say that you were reborn?" the werecat begged her._

"… _Are you trying to say that you knew me in my previous life?" she asked in surprise before telling him the date to be certain._

"_Yes…. __**Yes!**__" the werecat cheered, laughing happily as if all his problems were solved with just that revelation._

_Haru looked at the flower-strewn grave again as a shudder racked through her soul. "Is that mine?"_

_All the monsters cringed, but it was the mummy that spoke first. _

"_Yep. You died a hero's death over a century ago."_

"_And she might again if she doesn't return to her body immediately," the little witch realized with horror. "Quick, jump back into the grave before the link between you and your body is permanently severed!"_

_Haru nodded and got herself to hover over the grave while preparing a swan dive._

"_But how will I find you again?!" the werecat almost screamed before she could disappear again._

_Haru looked at him. "My name's Haru Yoshioka, I go to Jirashi High, class 7B. Anyone good with a computer will be able to find me with that kind of information. I'll be expecting to see you again so I can scream at you for scaring me like this."_

_Without waiting another minute, she made the swan dive back into the grave._

_This was just as scary as the first time she could see nothing and feel nothing except the suggestion of passing through solid matter. Last time, she didn't know where she was going or why. This time, she knew where she wanted to go, but there was now a ticking clock to make sure that she wouldn't so much as get brain damage from being technically dead for a few minutes._

'_Come on, come on, come-'_

Haru's eyes snapped open with a thunderous gasp for air.

The first thing she saw was the gym teacher with both of her hands over Haru's heart, though she jumped back in surprise.

"Yoshioka! Do not scare us like that again!" she demanded, putting one hand on the girl's shoulder to keep her from sitting up. "Don't move. An ambulance is on its way."

"I don't need an ambulance," Haru gasped, but the teacher shushed her.

"I don't care if you think you need it. You, young lady, are going to stay _right there_ until help arrives. Hashima-san, you're in charge of making sure she doesn't move."

"Happily!" Hiromi answered, tears running down her face as she laid down next to where Haru had fallen and wrapped one arm around her friend. "Don't you _ever _do that again! You and I are going to be besties until we're old hags, and **you are not allowed to cut that short!**"

"I swear I'm fine!" Haru protested, but no one listened to her.

Not the principal.

Not the paramedics on the ambulance.

Not even her mother when she was called to the hospital.

The doctor was pursing his lips a few hours later as he looked through his notes as Naoko held her daughter's hand. "This really is baffling. According to my tests, there really is nothing wrong with Haru."

"Well, teenagers don't just collapse unconscious and lose pulse and breath over nothing!" the mother protested, keeping a firm grip on her daughter's hand as she lay in the hospital bed.

It was all Haru could do not to scream in frustration. She knew full well how it happened, but she'd get locked up in a much worse hospital than this if she tried to tell anyone. Even telling her mother about it without a monster physically there to back her up would be a bad idea.

She couldn't help but fight back a smirk thinking about when her mother would find out that Dracula was a real person. _That _should make her feel better about all this.

But what about that werecat? She suddenly felt incredibly guilty that while she had managed to tell him her name, she hadn't so much as asked for his.

"I think it would be a good idea to keep her here overnight for observation," the doctor continued, making more additions to his notes. "There's a few more tests that need time, and I'd rather not discharge her for something to happen during the night."

Naoko shuddered in horror before tightening her grip on her child. "I'm sure insurance will cover us," she asserted, though only Haru could feel the tremor in her hand.

"I am sorry about all this fuss," the teenager apologized again, but the doctor shushed her with a gentle smile.

"It's no one's fault, Haru. Sometimes the body just does strange things."

'_You're telling __**me**__,' _she fought not to say out loud.

"But that doesn't mean we're not going to try to find answers," he assured her before politely taking his leave.

Naoko wasn't able to resist the need to hug her child around the lines connecting her baby to various machines to make sure that her insides were all working the way they were supposed to. "This isn't right," she whispered while trying not to cry. "You're strong and healthy. There was no reason for this to happen."

Well, one. Haru remembered how the witch was holding some unidentifiable things in her hands, but the werecat had seemed like the one most eager to talk to her. What was their history in her past life?

He was important. Haru felt that in her very bones. Even now, every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was his face after finding out that she was currently alive.

Haru couldn't help a gentle smile as she thought about that face. He'd come for her. If she was important to him this long after her death as Lucy, he'd know where to find her soon enough.

"Haru! Is everything okay?" Naoko suddenly panicked as the machine measuring her pulse began to speed up.

"Yep!" her daughter answered with a blush. "This is all just a formality. I guess I can force myself to stay here long enough for everyone to stop worrying."

"You better believe I'm worried! If I lost you…" Her mother couldn't even force herself to finish the sentence, holding onto her child even harder.

'_You won't,' _Haru longed to say, but couldn't. "Mom? Could you get my laptop from home? And my phone charger? I promise not to push myself, but I don't want to be bored, and I do have some homework I feel up to finishing."

Her mother sighed. "Sometimes, Haru, you're too practical for your own good. All right, but I won't be long," she promised, kissing her daughter's hair before leaving the room as well.

Haru tried to force herself to relax. Although her head still felt a bit foggy from the experience, she was certain that it was just a good nap from completely disappearing.

Actually, a nap sounded heavenly right now. She nestled herself more comfortably under her blankets and let herself start dozing off.

Just before sleep came, there was a polite knock on her door.

"Yes?" she called out while trying not to sound grumpy.

The door opened a tiny crack to reveal a hospital volunteer. "Haru Yoshioka?"

"That's me. How's your day?" she asked politely.

"Very well, actually," he responded with a smile, opening the door the rest of the way to come in.

His reason why was immediately recognized in the form of the most beautiful bouquet Haru had ever seen, with roses and bleeding hearts intermingled with other flowers she couldn't even guess the names of.

But she recognized at least some of them from Lucy's grave.

Haru couldn't resist smirking. _'I knew it wouldn't take him long to find me.'_

"These arrived for you just now," the volunteer announced while carefully setting the glass vase next to the window where she would be able to see them just fine. "Did you want the envelope?"

"Yes, please," Haru answered while eagerly holding her hand out.

He set it in her hand with a smile. "You must have someone special to get you this so quickly after being admitted. Did you need anything else?"

"Some water would be nice," Haru admitted, though her real goal was to get him out of the room before opening the envelope.

He nodded and closed the door after himself.

Haru hurriedly opened the envelope and card to see what the werecat had to say for himself.

_Dearest Haru,_

_I assure you I know how to use a computer. Don't be too surprised if your hospital bill gets mysteriously paid before the day is out. I assure you that I will make my way to you in a few days, since our dear friends managed to beat into my head that showing up so quickly after your malady will create unwanted questions._

_D. says he'll be happy to answer any questions your mother has to help soothe her nerves. I'm certain she isn't taking this well, and you heavily hinted that she is an open-minded individual._

_Expect a text next time you touch your phone,_

_Baron Humbert von Gikkingen._

_P.S. That's Baron to you._

Haru beamed happily, laying back and resting the note over her heart. "Baron," she said out loud, enjoying the sound of it.

She didn't even care that monsters were real, after all.

Because as much as her rebirth meant to him, just learning the werecat's name answered a need she hadn't known was lacking.


	5. Midnight Snack

A/N: this was how I was originally going to do the second chapter of Zinging in the Train, but I realized that Hiromi wasn't really needed to make this work. But this should still be a fun ride.

Birthday Bash 2020

Prompt 6: Midnight Snack

"This is a bad idea," Hiromi whimpered as she clung to her best friend's arm, staring up at the giant castle.

"You didn't have to come with me, you know," Haru crooned, looking up at the castle with an equal measure of joy.

Hiromi managed a scoff through her terror. "Like heck I'm going to let you walk into the lion's den by yourself. We are going to be those cool old ladies that cackle at everything in fifty years, _one way or another_."

Haru couldn't resist a fond smile as she gripped her luggage with her free hand. "Get your luggage, Hiromi. We're going in, and we're going to be fine."

The tawnier girl bit back another whimper, but still gripped her own bag as Haru once again thanked the driver that had brought them from the airport.

Haru's own heart was pounding, but not for the same reason as her friend's.

It was finally time. After seven years of wanting to see Hotel Transylvania, she was _finally _here! It was just a shame that that her mother wasn't able to accompany the pair for their graduation present.

All thanks to a self-righteous boss that thinks like a Van Helsing.

But at least Haru got to share this experience with her best friend.

It was slightly awkward to navigate both of their bodies and their rolling luggage since Hiromi refused to let go of Haru's arm, but it was managed for the two seconds that were needed for the rotating doors.

When they almost exploded through that door, it was everything Haru dreamed for, _and more_!

There were more monsters than she knew names to, and they were walking around like it was perfectly normal!

Which they had every right to. They've certainly waited long enough to be treated as equals. It was a bit strange to see the modern touches like big screen TVs to show what all the hotel had to offer. Haru had secretly been hoping that the inside of the castle would look as traditional as the outside, but…

Well, it wasn't _her _hotel to make decisions for, and it was still plenty impressive. She happened to look beside her at Hiromi, and immediately had to suppress the urge to laugh at the complete horror on her friend's face.

They probably looked like the smiling and frowning masks from the theatre.

"It's going to be okay, Hiromi," Haru reminded her friend with the most soothing voice she had, urging her forward with the arm that was still being clutched like a child's toy. "Just stick with me and let me do the talking. For once," she added with a sly smile.

As nervous as Hiromi was, she was able to laugh at that as they used their free hands to roll their luggage towards the line for the front desk. "Well, why don't you be the talkative one with monsters around? Everything else about us is opposite. I'm loud, you're quiet. I'm strong, you're smart. I'm a tomboy and you're a lady."

Haru rolled her eyes at that last one. "I think 'lady' is a bit of a stretch, Hiromi. I just know how to be quiet until people need me to not be quiet."

Hiromi stopped so that she could let go of her luggage long enough to point a finger at her friend. "Exactly!"

Haru grinned while secretly hoping that her best friend would keep talking. The more she talked, the more comfortable she was with her surroundings.

Which was the biggest reason slumber parties together had such limited success.

Hiromi grabbed her rolling bag again, obeyed Haru's prompting to let some brains fly by, and then took the last ten steps needed to join the end of the line. "I bet you're going to _love _the excuse to finally stay up all night."

"Maybe," Haru responded with a playful smirk, now studying the skeletal mariachi band playing happily from their designated spot. _ 'Oh, I can't wait to see all the options for things to do here!'_

"I'll try to stay up the best I can, but I don't think I'll be able to last as long as you," Hiromi yawned, getting sleepy at just the thought. "You're not going to leave me in our room to sleep alone, are you?"

"I already said that the sleeping schedule shouldn't be that different from Japan's," Haru reminded her, wrapping the squeezed arm around her friend's shoulders so that Hiromi would let go and allow circulation to return. "With the time difference, you're not going to have as hard of a time staying up all night as you think."

"You didn't answer my question," Hiromi pressed, nervously looking around at all the monsters. "You aren't really going to just leave me in our room so that you can go out and have a turn at being the social butterfly?"

"I just explained why that isn't going to be a problem," Haru repeated herself while squeezing those trembling shoulders. "All you have to do is trust me, and our time here is going to be-"

She cut off at feeling a sharp gust of wind billow behind her, making her loose brown hair fly around for a second. It sharply reminded her of the time not that long ago when she was almost hit by a truck while saving a cat. Since she wanted to know if it was a wind monster, Haru turned around to see the culprit.

She saw dark attire partially covered by a black cape. Her heart sped up even as she craned her head back a bit to look up at the face, already knowing exactly who it was.

Count Dracula.

He was staring at her, his blue irises turning into pinpricks as his mouth fell open in disbelief.

Haru's own mouth fell open, but it was more in sheer joy, and she couldn't be bothered to check how Hiromi was handling being this close to not just a vampire, but **the **vampire. "Hi," she greeted him happily, since she forgot which term of address a count was supposed to be given.

He responded by wrapping his arms completely around her for a tight embrace, slightly pushing the tawny-haired girl out of the way.

"Hey!" Hiromi yelled indignantly, and Haru could feel her trying to pry one of the arms off.

"It's okay," Haru assured her friend, half-muffled by Dracula's chest. "Everybody needs a hug sooner or later." She emphasized her point by wrapping her own arms around his chest and squeezing, though she was privately shocked at the warm greeting.

'_Is he usually this affectionate to guests? Mom's going to be __**ridiculously **__jealous when I tell her about this!'_

"… _You came back,_" he nearly wept, still holding her close like newfound treasure. "I… didn't think you could. But you're here!"

Haru's eyes blinked in confusion, and she gave the small body signals for him to release her from the hug. "I'm pretty sure I'd remember if we'd met before. I'm Haru Yoshioka, and this is Hiromi Hashima," she introduced herself and her best friend, now wondering if he had simply mistaken her for someone else.

Dracula looked once at Hiromi, who shrank underneath his gaze to the other side of Haru. "Ah, yes. I should have suspected. The pair of you were always a package deal," he said with a certain resignation.

Even Hiromi blinked at that. "Wait, _have _we met? You couldn't have known that without stalking us, wait, _have _you been stalking us? Don't you have anything better-"

"Down, Hiromi," Haru tried not to order, keeping one hand on the pocket of her long blue jacket in case she needed the contents. She looked up at the count with a soft smile. "Hiromi and I still need to check in, but I'd be happy to hear why you seem to know us."

The resignation changed to a deep affection as he looked from Hiromi to Haru. "You haven't changed a bit," he informed her, actually grabbing her face and pressing a kiss to her forehead before marching past the line and up to the desk.

"… What was all _that_?" Hiromi managed to ask, but Haru could only shrug.

"More reasons for my mom to worship the ground he floats over?"

"Haru, I'm being serious. Something's up with that vampire."

"And I think he's paving the way for us to find out a little faster," Haru finished, noticing that the large fly manning the desk had flown a good ten feet into the air to get a good look at the girls. She gave him a friendly wave and smile, but that just seemed to spook him worse.

He floated back down and started tapping like mad on his computer. It could have been Haru's imagination, but the people closest to the desk seemed to be whispering to each other and straining to see the girls at the back of the line.

Dracula soon returned to the back of the line with a pair of zombie bellhops. "Mark and Phil will be taking your things to your suite," he informed the girls while handing each of them a key.

"I think my mom booked a normal room," Haru tried not to complain as Hiromi had a small tussle with Mark over her luggage. She gave her friend's leg a small kick to remind her to behave. She gave Phil a thankful smile while handing over her own luggage.

"I upgraded you on the house. Consider it a small piece of what I owe you. Now, may I introduce you to my family?" Dracula begged with a hopeful smile.

"_Yes_!" Haru tried desperately not to squeal as Hiromi started trembling again. "Do any public pictures of Mavis or Dennis do them justice?"

"_None_," he assured her with a wide grin, placing a long-fingered hand on both of their backs before pushing towards one of the stairs.

"I'll race you, Hiromi," Haru cheered as she pocketed the room key and took off running.

"Wait, Haru!" her friend cried out in worry. "You know what happens when you run on stairs!"

Dracula must have guessed, or perhaps he knew?

Either way, just before her foot touched the first step, Haru felt the vampire's arm wrap around her waist and Hiromi's arm bump hers as she managed a cry of surprise from his other arm. Then they seemed to weigh nothing at all, and Haru couldn't feel her own body as her awareness sped up the stairs and through a series of hallways.

The strange ride stopped short at one door, and the feeling of having a body swiftly returned, making both girls stumble a bit.

"Did you just turn us into _mist_?" Haru guessed through a laugh as she gripped Dracula's arm for support as she regained her balance. "I had no idea you could do that!"

"Please don't ever do it again," Hiromi moaned, escaping the other arm to lean against a stone wall and breathe heavily.

"I usually save doing it to others for emergencies," Dracula answered both questions, though he was still beaming happily as he knocked on the door. "Mavie?! I have a surprise for you."

"Come on in, Dad," a sweet voice answered, making the vampire excitedly open the door and glide through.

Haru looked in after him, seeing a very cozy apartment, but Dracula was right in the line of vision to prevent her from seeing his daughter.

"Do you remember all the times growing up when you wished you had the chance to meet Lucy yourself?" he asked a bit too casually, making the _beautiful _little boy look up from where he was playing trains with his almost identical father.

Haru's heart melted at the sight of that boy, making her step lightly into the room and just missing Hiromi's frantic grab for her arm.

"Of course, Dad. She sounded like an amazing person. Why do you ask?" that sweet voice inquired as Dennis gasped at the sight of Haru.

"Aunt Lucy!" he screamed as his father gaped soundlessly. He jumped up into the air and flew at her with a big smile.

Haru wasted no time holding her arms out for him and wrapping him into a tight hug, even if he accidentally knocked her against the wall beside the door.

The action knocked all the wind out of her, but Haru didn't have it in her to get angry with him. "You want me to be your aunt? I'll _happily _be your aunt," she cooed after getting her breath back. She rubbed her face against his red curls and enjoyed the scent of it. "Congratulations on getting your fangs, by the way."

He beamed happily before showing them off to her. "I even beat up some gargoyles that were mean for no good reason."

Haru laughed in surprised approval. "You did? _Dang_, that must have been something to see. How much bigger than you were they?"

"Bigger than Papa Drac," Dennis reported proudly. "I'd have left them alone if one of them didn't throw Winnie against a tree. _That's _what made my fangs come out."

Haru glared at the idea before tightening the hug again. "You are _definitely _my nephew, and I'll fight anyone that says differently. Come on, Hiromi," she called to her friend hovering fearfully in the doorway. "I'm pretty sure that Dracula wanted us both to come in."

"…I'm not so sure," she responded as she hesitantly stepped through the door. "The only one they're excited to see is you."

Haru gave her a loving smirk. "Are you _sure _you want to wait outside where you could meet any monster in the hallways while I learn an interesting story that involves us?"

"Nope!" she responded immediately while slamming the door behind her with wide terrified eyes.

"Didn't think so," Haru smirked again before turning to look at Mavis.

Well. She _would _have looked at Mavis if the younger vampire wasn't throwing her arms around Haru's shoulders and her son.

"_You're here!_" she whispered like it was a miracle too good to be true.

Haru loosened one arm from Dennis to hug her back so that he wouldn't get squished between them. "I'm here," she responded in a warm tone. "I've been wanting to meet you for years."

Mavis broke down crying on her shoulder. "_Ditto!_"

"Okay, enough is enough!" Hiromi yelled at the top of her lungs, making Haru look over Mavis's shoulder. "Can everyone stop dropping hints that all of you know Haru and explain **why** you seem to know her?!"

"Would that help?" Jonathan asked while pointing at a portrait on the far wall.

Haru and Hiromi both looked at it… but couldn't believe their eyes.

It was a portrait of Haru.

Mavis forced herself to let go of her so that the two humans could draw close enough to inspect that portrait, though Haru still carried Dennis in one arm as he kept his tiny arms around her neck in complete contentment.

It was a beautifully detailed oil painting, but unlike the more usual 'posed' feel, it literally looked like a photograph taken at just the right moment in time.

It literally could have been Haru a few years from now if she dyed her hair black and got blue contacts before attending a Victorian-themed party. No, Edwardian? She gave a nervous glance down at the green turtleneck peeking from underneath her long blue jacket before comparing it to the dark blue dress in the portrait, complete with a mint green scarf intricately tied around her neck.

She was also paler, though her cheeks were pink with excitement as a dazzling smile dominated her face.

"I've never smiled like that," Haru finally noted a bit nervously. _'I'll just get shouted down if I try to say I'm not __**that **__pretty.'_

"Oh yes, you have," Hiromi shot back without a thought. "Whenever you get really excited about something. That's the smile that made me want to be your friend when we met on the playground when we were about this kiddo's age." Forgetting, or perhaps not caring for the moment that Dennis was a vampire, the tawny girl patted his red curls absently.

Dennis only responded by snuggling deeper into Haru's arms with a contented smile.

"I've given up trying to get a photograph of that smile because something's always happening when you get that excited. Who painted this?" Hiromi asked while briefly touching the hat of the young woman leaning heavily against Haru's painted shoulder.

Much the way Hiromi herself did on field trips.

"Uncle Baron did. Dad, did you let him know Lucy's back?" Mavis suddenly asked, making her father flinch a little guiltily.

"I thought it would be a good idea to make sure she wasn't near anything dangerous first, and the pair of you are so much better with those darn contraptions than I am."

"Uncle Baron?" Haru asked, turning just in time to see Mavis pull out her phone and unlock it with a finger.

Mavis hurriedly took a picture of the humans standing in front of the portrait before tapping a message into her device. "He was someone _very _important to you when you were Lucy. It usually takes Toto about two hours to fly him here, but he'll want to see you as soon as possible. Would you mind staying with us until then? He's likely going to insist we keep you from doing anything ridiculously dangerous until he gets here." She sent the text with a satisfied smile.

"Oh yeah. They know you, Haru," Hiromi deadpanned as her friend snuck another look at the portrait. "If any of you can successfully keep her from doing anything stupidly heroic, I'll appreciate it. I'm really tired and really bad at trying to keep Haru from trying to be everyone's hero."

"Emphasis on 'try'," Haru retorted before slowly turning her attention back to a still-nervous Dracula. With her free hand, she gestured to herself, hoping that she wasn't going to look like an idiot.

"… Lucy _Westenra_?"

"Yes," he answered simply, still taking in her face like he couldn't believe she was in the room with him and his family.

Mavis' cell phone already pinged with a reply message, making her touch the screen with a loving smile. "_Whatever you do, don't let Lucy leave your sight until my arrival. Don't show her pictures of me, don't tell her why I want to see her. I want to explain everything myself. I owe her that._"

Haru blushed, although she wasn't certain why. The words themselves were plain and somewhat justified, considering how she usually acted in emergencies. But even though the words were coming from Mavis's mouth, her heart started pumping faster. _'I wonder if it's the same Baron that founded the Refuge I once read about.'_

To distract from how Baron's words had affected her, Haru still made a similar gesture to Hiromi. "Mina Murray?" she asked in an equally tiny voice.

"_Yes_," Dracula answered again, though this time it came out more like a moan. "At least she's learned this time how not to fill every second with chatter."

Hiromi stiffened angrily, but Haru laughed a little wickedly.

"Oh yeah. They know you too, Hiromi." Since most of the attention had been on herself, the brunette didn't feel even a little bit bad about addressing Dracula again. "She's nervous about following me to your hotel to keep me out of trouble, but she'll get comfortable eventually. If her 'chatter' bothers you so much, her favorite type of gag is food. She's too polite to talk with her mouth full, and it's a lot more humane than duct tape."

His eyes opened wide. "Thank you," he said almost shortly before throwing himself at the skeletal phone next to the bed.

"Was that necessary?" Hiromi griped as an ancient grandfather clock began to chime midnight.

"Are you getting snacks out of it?" Haru smirked, knowing that her friend wouldn't hold a grudge for longer than it took for room service to reach them. "At least we already had a long discussion about how much you talk before coming here."

"Now if we could have a successful one about you literally throwing yourself in front of a truck if you see a cat in front of it," Hiromi muttered darkly.

That made Dennis snap out of his sleepy doze on Haru's shoulder. "You did _what_?"

Haru slapped her free hand over her friend's mouth. "You said you wouldn't talk about that! I replaced your lacrosse stick, didn't I?"

"It's not like your mom was around to hear it!" Hiromi managed to say while stepping away from Haru's hand.

"But _they-_" Haru said while pointing at Mavis but including her family in the gesture, "are going to meet my mom if I can talk them into it!"

"Done!" Dracula called to Haru before muttering into the phone again.

"You'll love her," Haru managed to inform him before turning her attention back to her best friend. "People who meet each other talk, and I don't want her to scream at me again because I can't and won't control my stupid hero complex!" Haru continued to yell, although she was secretly giddy that it had been so easy to talk the count into meeting his biggest fan.

"Haru, I love you to pieces, but you can't keep _doing _this! Don't you know what it will do to me and your mom if you…" Hiromi choked back a sob before throwing herself over her friend's shoulders.

That did make Haru feel guilty as she instinctively wrapped her arm around her best friend, feeling a bit put out when Dennis finally chose to turn into mist and reappear in his father's arms with a sad expression.

It wasn't that she didn't care if people would miss her. It was that she cared if other people were going to miss someone she had the ability to help. Even if there wasn't anyone that would miss the person in question, did that give her the right to walk away just because she was afraid?

That was Haru's deep dark secret. She was always afraid. But it was all a matter of what scared her more; an obstacle, or a soul that she could have helped, but then chose not to.

"… That's how you died as Lucy," Mavis offered in a small voice. "Protecting Dad."

That didn't improve Hiromi's tears in the slightest.

Deciding that enough was enough, Haru guided her friend to one side of the red couch, keeping her weeping girl's face to her shoulder much the same way she had done with Dennis as Dracula finished putting in a room service order.

Just to make sure that Hiromi didn't interrupt, Haru scooped up the last of the candy in her pocket and deposited it in her friend's mouth to tide her over until the extra food arrived. As suspected, her mouth automatically began chewing through her sobs.

Haru turned her attention back to the Dracula family. "Other than Baron, tell me everything."


	6. Heist

A/N: I started writing this forever ago, forgot about it, and then remembered for the Bash. Expect this piece to have follow-ups.

Pretty much, this is my take on what if Haru hadn't been Lucy in a past life, but her mother had been Martha, and her father had been Van Helsing.

Birthday Bash 2020

Prompt 7: Heist

It was a hand on her shoulder. It nudged her in short, gentle spurts, urging her to forget about the land of dreams.

Haru groaned, grabbing one of her white pillows shaped like a cross and covering her head with it to get her point across. "The sleeping rock you have dialed is unavailable. Please try again later," she slurred like a drunkard.

Through the pillow, she could hear a low laugh. It was warm and didn't sound a thing like one of her father's people.

Come to think of it, when was the last time someone woke her up this gently?

Although she was still dead-tired, Haru forced herself to sit up from her cozy covers and put down the pillow to rub her stubborn eyes into opening. She blinked, a little surprised at what she saw next to her bed.

It was a girl about her own age. She stood out like a fresh rose in a meadow of snow since she was dressed like a goth, even wearing a thin line of black lipstick. The short bob of her black hair was styled like a vampire, but her large blue eyes were kind, albeit amused. Stranger than that, there was also an undercurrent of nervousness as she waited for the girl on the bed to do something.

Anything.

Haru took in her appearance for a full minute before crossing her legs under the white covers. "So, am I having an odd dream, or are you begging for trouble? I doubt you have permission to be this close to me dressed like that."

The strange visitor gave a dismissive sniff while pointedly looking around the boringly white bedroom. "You think I would have had a better chance if I threw on a white dress?"

Haru tilted her head at her, having no trouble picturing her in the flowing gown of one of Dracula's brides. "Actually, that might have made it worse. A wig might help." A long yawn escaped her mouth as she briefly stretched like a cat. "So. If this isn't a dream, I doubt you're here to talk fashion. If anything, you should be tutoring _me_ on the subject."

The girl's outfit was surprisingly low-key, merely a long black shirt with fishnet sleeves paired with black and red-striped leggings. Even the cute black bag hanging over one shoulder was simple but nice.

The goth girl beamed at the compliment but looked down in worry as she sat on the edge of the bed to go through the hobo bag. "Actually, yes. I'm here for something more important. I want you to read a book Mom left me before she died." From within the bag, she tenderly opened a Ziploc bag to carefully extract the contents.

Haru could feel her heartstrings twang like a bow that had been strung too tight. She needed no urging to handle the parchment-colored book carefully as it was passed to her.

It looked like it had been made by a skilled hand, but despite the obvious care it had been given, there was little that could hide the signs that this was an old book.

"_True Love by Mom. For your 118__th__ birthday,_" Haru read from the cover and first page, a second passing before she realized what she just read. She gave a quick look at the goth girl sitting beside her, but only received a nod in response.

"Keep reading," she urged in a small soft voice.

Haru stared for another full minute, slowly shaking her head. "… If… I mean… are you?"

"A vampire? Yes," she admitted, her large blue eyes still on the book. "Am I here to hurt you? No. Please. You need to see what's in there."

Haru opened her mouth to ask more questions, but she slapped one hand across her mouth and forced them back down. _'Later. She wouldn't have slipped past the defenses unless she had a good reason and she wouldn't have woken me up if she only wanted a meal. I guess all these crucifix pillows and decorations are useless.' _Taking in a long deep breath, she turned the page to actually start the story.

The author was also an artist, taking great pains in the detail of the palm trees beneath the full moon to show that it was taking place in the tropics somewhere. The same beautiful hand that wrote the title page and dedication narrated the only two animals in the picture.

"_Two lonely bats crashed in the night._" She turned the page, now seeing a handsome young man and a beautiful dark-haired woman staring at each other with unbridled devotion. "_They felt a Zing. Love at first sight._"

It could have been Haru's imagination, but a bit about the woman's facial structure reminded her of her own mom. She turned the page again to see them standing upside down on one of the palm leaves, holding hands and looking almost as if they were already at an altar. "_They knew right then that they would be husband and wife._"

Haru turned the page again to see a close up of the man and woman cuddling inside a heart. Eyes were closed, and they looked like heaven couldn't have been any better. "_For a Zing only happens once in your life._"

The last page had no illustration, letting the only focus be the final words of a mother to her child. "_Your Zing will come, my love. Cherish it. Love, Mommy._"

Haru could barely choke out the words, quickly putting the book at arm's length so that her tears wouldn't fall on the pages. Despite the fact that she had been the one reading it out loud, her mind involuntarily replayed the words in her own mother's long-lost voice.

The vampire girl could only smile sadly in understanding, taking back the book and stealing a tender hug from it before slipping it into the Ziplock and back into her bag.

"Dad was wrong," Haru's muffled voice came from the pillow she was burying her face in to hide her tears. "No vampire… he described… would have… written…"

The vampire's hand came up to rub the girl's shoulder in comfort. "I was pretty sure that was why you were saying no. Look, I've felt a Zing, and it's not the sort of thing you can deny. Mom's hands were tied as soon as she laid eyes on Dad, but she never stopped thinking about you, and Dad isn't a bad person. Please, won't you reconsider spending the summer with us?" she begged.

Haru's breathing calmed down, though she now had a small headache tapping at the back of her skull. Taking a moment to process what she had heard, the brunette looked up at her visitor with more than a little confusion, using her hand and pajama sleeve to wipe away the remaining tears. "Everything you said just now doesn't make a lick of sense. Didn't you say earlier that your mom died? Why would she want to see me? I'm pretty sure you're the first vampire I ever met, thanks to Dad's obsession with keeping me away from the world."

That black-lipsticked mouth fell open in complete shock, displaying her tiny, strangely adorable set of fangs. Her blue eyes seemed even wider as they stared at nothing but the girl in the bed.

"Wait, did you get the right bedroom?" she guessed next. "My name's Haru Yoshioka, what's yours?"

With her mouth still hanging open, the vampire's black nails darted out in a blur, taking every pillow off the bed until it was a small mountain in front of her. She then slammed her face into the plushy softness to drown out a passionate tirade that Haru still had no trouble understanding.

"That low-down, good for nothing _pig _of a human! How dare he say all those horrible things and make us think they were coming from _you_! Laws and customs can go hang themselves; I'll kill that smug son of a swineherd myself if I ever lay eyes on him!"

There were plenty more things she screamed into the mountain of pillows until Haru felt like she had to gently nudge one shoulder. "If you keep that up, they'll hear you. Please, I don't want you to get hurt."

The vampire forced herself to calm down, taking her face out of the pillows to reveal a fury that looked much closer to the nightmare-ish tales of Haru's childhood. Seeing the bit of fear in the girl's eyes forced the vampire girl to calm herself down and sit on the edge of the bed again.

"What did he tell you happened to your mother?" she nearly demanded.

Haru blinked, not expecting the sudden question but assuming the vampire was referring to her dad. "A plane crash on the way home from her last quilt convention. I was ten. He's been acting crazy ever since, though it's been getting worse as the years pass. He's even been insisting that Count Dracula caused the crash, but why would he bother?"

The vampire slapped one head against her forehead, hissing angrily as her free hand pulled a cell phone out of her pocket. "I will _kill _him for all of this! Even when Dad was being overprotective and manipulative, at least he didn't lie about Mom!" Her thumb skillfully danced across the surface until she was handing the device to Haru.

She took one look and gasped in shock.

It was her mother. Her hand darted out to take the phone for a closer look, but there was no mistaking that face.

All the old photos had been lost when she and her father moved into this horrible place, but Haru knew this was no photoshop. For one, her mother's hair was longer than it had been when she was younger, and she seemed more relaxed than Haru ever remembered if there were people other than herself around.

Haru raised a finger to keep looking at pictures, using a single glance at the vampire to beg permission.

She nodded, scooting closer so that she could look at the photos as well.

Not every photo had her mother but seeing them in succession was enough to paint a vivid idea of what life was like where her mother was.

She lived somewhere with thick stone walls. She looked perfectly comfortable teaching a skeleton how to use a sewing machine. She was high fiving a lady that looked a little like a zombie while they were wearing identical smirks, but the reason behind it wasn't readily available.

There was another human there, giving a piggyback ride to a son that was nearly identical to him and laughing like a cherub. Haru really had to struggle with herself to stop staring at the beautiful little boy to look at more pictures.

Then there was the one of her mother waltzing with a tall, handsome vampire. The same one that had been captured within the precious pages.

Haru's eyes widened as she also recognized the complete adoration as they stared only at each other. Her mouth slowly fell open as the truth began falling into place as perfectly as puzzle pieces.

"Mom was excited she was going to meet monsters," she whispered as memories began to resurface. Throwing off the remaining blankets, she left the phone with the vampire girl to start pacing the room. "She's always had a soft spot for monsters. She promised to tell me all about them when she got back because Dad refused to let her take me along. But… if your dad's Dracula, he already Zinged, and you only Zing once…" She stopped dead in her tracks as she fully understood who had snuck into her room.

The vampire girl could only nod while trying to strangle a pillow. "Dad says Mom's a bit different in her current life, but her loving nature and creative mind were still there, even though it's manifested in a different direction than last time. He _was _going to let her come back to you since she was already married, but Mom couldn't make herself leave when the time came. She insists to the press that Dad wasn't a home-wrecker. You were the only reason she ever regretted staying with us."

Haru could only stare at her as a new fear welled up in her heart. What if this **was** a dream? Was she really so desperate to believe that her mother was alive that she'd even accept that a vampire was … in a way…

She drew close to the vampire again, realizing how desperately she wanted the thought to be truth. "_**Sis**_?" she asked in a nearly inaudible whisper.

Her blue eyes welled up with happiness as she stood up and wrapped her arms around the human girl. "I'm Mavis. Your older half-sister by one hundred and nine years." She gave a small laugh full of relief as Haru's arms automatically clamped tight around her. "I don't know about you, but I've always hated being an only child."

Haru gripped her even tighter, unable to keep her sobs under control at what she had been forced to miss out on.

Mavis' outburst had made it clear that her father had said things that Haru would never say. Not to mention that she knew for a fact that hot vampire or no, nothing would have kept her mother away from her.

Not without her father using a lot of money to keep turning down visitation requests. Mavis wouldn't have come if her mother didn't regret leaving her with the man.

Haru looked around her crucifix-laden room with tear-filled eyes. All these extra precautions in case Mavis or her step-father came to take or talk to her without permission. While keeping her here and controlling literally every moment of her life. Even her future was being arranged without her consent, all to keep his 'little angel' from finding out how far he was willing to go to hurt her mother.

Her mind flickered once with the image of her fiancé, and she shivered at how close she had come to never finding out the truth.

"Don't let go, Mavis," Haru begged, clinging to her even harder. "Please. Take me home?"

Her big sister didn't respond, at least with her voice. Instead, Haru suddenly felt weightless, even insubstantial. Almost like a dream, her awareness seeped through a small air duct that even a cat would find uncomfortable. Flooding carefully through the silver lines that she could remember her father complaining about the cost of to make the improvised former prison as impassible for monsters as possible.

Just as Haru was forgetting that she had ever had a body, she almost tripped over her own feet while on the roof of the terrible place. "_Cold_!" she yelped from the cold stone beneath her bare feet, but Mavis quickly covered her mouth.

"_Sorry, forgot that human flesh is more sensitive," _she whispered, looking around nervously.

Patrols could literally be anywhere on this quiet moonless night. It wasn't enough for Haru to be kept in what used to be a top-security cell when she wasn't with him. Somehow, he had even gotten enough money for patrols to get at least a warning if a monster showed up.

… Mavis must have really wanted to see her if she was willing to risk getting shot with a silver bullet, though the two sleeping guards lying against a corner explained why no one was raising an alarm so far.

Her sister luckily already had a plan. "_The quickest way to get you home is for me to fly while holding your hand. It should only take me maybe ten minutes since I once flew from California to Transylvania in about half an hour. While carrying my husband and backpack that's bigger than he is. Either one is bigger than you._"

"_Impressive_," Haru wheezed while nearly jumping from foot to foot to try counteracting just how cold the stone was. She inwardly cursed herself for not thinking to at least put on a pair of slippers before telling her big sister how eager she was to leave this place.

"_It will be cold on the trip too,_" Mavis apologized with a guilty smile. "_But it won't be long enough to get you sick, and you'll have a nice long hug with Mom and Dad to warm you back up._"

Haru looked down nervously. "_You sure your dad won't mind me_?"

"_Seeing you again will make __**our **__mom very happy. That will make him happy_," Mavis assured her with another warm hug. "_As long as you don't bring up the 'bleh bleh bleh' thing, he'll give you a chance._"

With that, she turned herself into an adorable little bat with her signature blue eyes.

"Oh, tell me he doesn't actually say it," Haru groaned while reaching up with one hand for the bat to grab her. "I won't be able to take him seriously."

The bat flashed her a barely visible smirk while wrapping her claws around Haru's hand and wrist. "In all honesty, he doesn't."

Haru would be lying if she didn't say that she was just a teensy bit nervous about being lifted into the air at least a mile over her prison before Mavis started heading east like a bullet.

"But let me tell you how I pranked him with my son's first words…"


End file.
